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TIN STAR Company: Nintendo Released: November 1994 Genre: Shooting Graphics: 8.0 Control: 8.5 Sound/Music: 8.0 Storyline: 8.5 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 SUPER-NES.COM

Tin Star is best described as a light gun game, without the light gun. It's also one of those games that on paper seems like a dud, but once you begin playing it, you see what all the fuss is about. If there were a wild west version of Toe Jam & Earl, it would probably be a lot like this game. Everything in the game is over-the-top silly and even the cut scenes, while quite entertaining, are full of offbeat humor. Having said all of that, Nintendo has somehow molded all of these elements together in a way that just seems to work together in perfect harmony and the end result is one of the most unique and enjoyable Super NES shooting games ever released. What Tin Star might lack in overall visual detail, it more than makes up for with its outstanding character animation. It might look silly, but every character in the game has a huge amount of different movements and animations and it's impressive no matter how many times you've played through the game. The graphics are solid, but the backgrounds tend to become rather bland at times and make the sharp visuals in the foregrounds look almost out of place. There is quite a bit of multi-layer scrolling, so that helps spice things up a bit. Tin Star might not be the best looking Super Nintendo game, but it's got enough graphical charm to carry the game's wild theme. If you thought the visuals were wacky, wait until you listen to the music and sound effects in the game. The twangy country tunes that play throughout each level are absolutely hilarious. They honestly couldn't have written any better music to go along with the game's humorous action. Even the sound effects are spot-on perfect and you'll laugh every time you hear the ricochet sound. For gamers who aren't terribly fond of country music, the soundtrack might begin to grate on your nerves after awhile, but for those of you out there who can appreciate the funny way the game uses the music to help carry the eccentric tone of the game, you'll definitely want to crank this one up. The game play in Tin Star is quite simple. Instead of pointing a light gun at the screen, you simply move a targeting crosshair around with the d-pad and shoot your gun with one of the action buttons. The movement of the target is extremely smooth and responsive. You can even adjust the responsiveness of the movement using the options menu to get it just the way you like it. Your job is to take out any bad guys that pop up around the screen. In most cases, you'll have to be quick before they get a shot off at you. Each time the bad guys shoot you, it takes some of your health bar away. When it runs out, so do you. Each new level brings about new challenges, including the quick-draw contests. Your reflexes will be thoroughly put to the test in this game as you'll have multiple bad guys popping up around the screen in the later levels and you'll have to be lightning quick in order to get them before they get you. At the end of each area, you'll have to face off against a boss. They're not too difficult, but each boss gets a little smarter and requires a little more thought to defeat, which gives the game a very solid and gradual increase in difficulty. It's hard to believe that a shooting game with no light gun can be executed so well and be so much fun and addictive at the same time. Tin Star isn't a game for everyone, but if you like to have a good laugh while you're enjoying a fantastic game, this is one you don't want to miss. It combines outstanding play control with some of the most intense shooting action seen on the Super Nintendo console. You'll love the humorous way the story is played out throughout the game, but when it's all said and done, it's the shooting action that will bring you back to this classic for years to come.